Trending Tech: Digital Transformation: It's critical, but not all serious

There’s a lot happening in digital communications this month with the GSMA’s annual Mobile World Congress event returning to Barcelona bigger, busier and healthier than it’s been for years. Jim Morrish, co-founder of analyst firm Transforma Insights tells IoT Now and VanillaPlus’s editorial director, Jeremy Cowan what to look out for at the world’s best tech show. Plus Jeremy gets ready for a busy retirement as an author, and hands...

The Trending Tech Podcast returns to the topical issues of Connected Healthcare and IoT’s role in Industry. We hear from two experts, Jash Bansidhar and Michael Wernaert from Advantech, how automation is improving patient outcomes, including through robotic surgery’s greater accuracy, faster patient release dates and lower care costs. We ask how ‘co-created’ solutions on open source platforms can benefit hospitals and healthcare OE...

Catch the latest Trending Tech Podcast to hear how integrated SIM technologies will change Internet of Things and consumer communications, enabling smaller device footprints, greater system integration, higher performance, and increased memory capacity. To get the latest news, we talk to two Thales’ Digital Identity & Security experts, Stephane Quetglas and Laurent Leloup. And make sure you stay for the hilarious story of scamm...

There are many claimed benefits for the Internet of Things (IoT), and underpinning plenty of them is Environmental Sustainability. But are smart metering, remote monitoring, connected transport and waste management really building a sustainable future? Is it ‘greenwashing’ or are mobile networks genuinely enabling greener lives for everyone? In the latest Trending Tech podcast Eric Brenneis, CEO of Vodafone IoT, argues that promoti...

The challenge for network operators is “massive” as we transition to 5G, says Rabih Dabboussi, chief revenue officer of Japan-based disruptor Rakuten Symphony. He hopes operators won’t miss the chance to disrupt their thinking, their operating model, and the way they look at revenues. Because for the first time in three decades, he says there’s an alternative to “the old legacy, standardised technology stack and equipment from typi...

If a boom goes on too long, Elon Musk says you get a misallocation of capital, “it starts raining money on fools." True success depends on having the necessary skills to create innovative products, as Max Nirenberg, CEO of Commit USA tells Jeremy Cowan. IT consultant Peter Bowen shares a couple of horror stories with critical lessons for all of us planning digital transformations. And just as much of the world is heading into r...

Between now and 2024 about 50% of all finance artificial intelligence (AI) projects are forecast to be delayed or cancelled. There’s no digital transformation (DX) playbook, so listen to the latest Trending Tech Podcast as experts Ash Finnegan of Conga and Perry Krug from Couchbase explain how the number of DX projects worldwide is rising fast yet far too many transformations have failed, been delayed or scaled back. It could be th...

Smart Metering is back in the news in the latest Trending Tech Podcast. Jeremy Cowan talks to three senior execs from Kigen, Kore Wireless and Energy Web to hear what Smart Energy players are demanding in security, connectivity, and data control. The experts explain how smart energy is changing with the Internet of Things. And finally, the podcast learns how close collaboration with OEMs is expected to accelerate transformations in...

Crime and Punishment: It's all kicking off in telecoms and IoT! As supporters try to keep Ukraine connected, experts see a huge rise in communications fraud. In the UK, administrators for failed CSP Phones4U allege some network operators colluded in its downfall – allegations they deny. Twitter can’t deny data breaches and coughs $150 million to US FCC. And Clearview AI is fined UK£7.5 million for illegally collecting facial im...

Worryingly, drivers of connected vehicles may not control their car, says Julia O’Toole, founder of security company MyCena. All the vehicles’ internet-facing communications are entry points to hijack your car or tamper with signals; it's a serious matter for the auto industry. Julia insists no one needs to know a password – ever. Plus the first factor in multi-factor authentication can be a weak, reused, phished, shared or sto...

Car makers are developing next gen vehicle-to-route connections and even brain-to-vehicle links, and not just for navigation or entertainment. Soon emergency responders will know an accident layout and see occupants’ health data before they even arrive. As IoT Now’s Jeremy Cowan hears from Benoit Joly, CCO of connected vehicle data firm Wejo,his company is already helping US authorities evacuate roads in the path of hurricanes. So ...

If you want advice on how to protect your organisation from Insider Threats go to the top as we did. In the latest Trending Tech Podcast, Eric Chilton, retired Special Agent in Charge of the USA’s Defense Counterintelligence & Security Agency outlines the key threats. And Ed Finegold, Chicago-based Tech Author & Analyst, discusses new research showing the scale of the cyber security problem facing every business today. You ...

Deepfakes? Aren’t they a bit Mission Impossible? Well, apparently not, as we hear from Dr. Nikolay Gaubitch at US-based network security specialists, Pindrop. In the latest Trending Tech Podcast, he says fraudsters have already used the AI-based technology with partial success in a $35 million bank fraud attempt in Dubai. This could become a common story if service providers don’t take preventive measures. And even fraudsters have ...

IEEE senior member and Professor of Cybersecurity, Kevin Curran discusses the lack of protection from ransomware, but tells us how Zero Trust Architecture can build stronger protection for businesses with remote and in-office staff. If all else fails, says podcast host, Jeremy Cowan, buy yourself a nuclear bunker in Arizona. Proposed uses include a porn studio, growing medical marijuana, and escaping cosmic ray bit flips. Just $400...

Telcos and tech providers are accelerating their sustainability efforts, says Tilly Gilbert, principal consultant at STL Partners and a guest on the latest Trending Tech Podcast. Some are bringing forward net zero goals and C-suites are incentivising, but the real drive is coming from middle management. Amanda Brock, CEO of OpenUK, tells us bringing 5G-enabled data centres closer to end users can start a process to cut carbon emiss...

In the latest Trending Tech Podcast Jeremy Cowan talks to Shaun Cooley about using machine learning to map buildings and get the best from them. And in the wake of the COP26 climate conference, Dr. Paul Carter tells us how we can cut air pollution worldwide with a low-cost, low-power, end-to-end solution on secure wireless networks. Plus, does Facebook know it’s taking on some bad metaverse baggage with its new name Meta? How do we...

Do we need ‘quick wins’ to build public support for smart cities? Or is it the IoT sector’s job (quietly and invisibly) to provide better, safer, greener lives for today’s smart citizens? Should we be winning hearts and minds with dazzling services, or silently enhancing the quality of life? Jeremy Cowan gets some surprising answers from Francesca Serravalle, Colt’s emerging technologies director, and Magnus Melander, founder of Sw...

Sigfox’s CEO, Jeremy Prince says small can be beautiful; you don't need to build a motorway to ride a bicycle. His company has invested €300 million in a decade rolling out a 72-country network, but in telco network terms that’s loose change. The market has matured since 2010, says Sigfox’s deputy CEO, Franck Siegel. They tell Jeremy Cowan and the Trending Tech podcast they’ve seen a “huge ramp up” in the number of Sigfox conne...